Tasty tomatoes from your garden without treatment with harmful pesticides - isn’t that a dream? If you decide to cultivate healthy vegetables, you should learn about the intricacies of cultivating nightshade to get a really rich harvest. It is not enough to purchase seeds or seedlings, you need to understand which varieties are suitable specifically for your climatic zone. If you plan to cultivate tomatoes in the open ground, a determinant plant will suit you, it is low and starts to yield early. What is the difference between different varieties? We'll figure out.
Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes
We are all used to the fact that tomatoes grow on small bushes, which immediately wilt after they give us their fruits. Many do not even suspect that there is a variety of nightshade plants that can bear fruit and grow for almost 12 months! Yes, you heard right! A real “evergreen” bush capable of reaching several meters in height and throwing up to 50 brushes with fruits is an indeterminate plant. That is, one that is not limited in growth. However, there are subtleties in the cultivation of such giants. It is necessary to conduct their stepsoning - to remove new leaves that appear between the stem and the main leaf. If this is not done, the plant will not be able to fully form the main stem, will lose strength in maintaining life in stepsons. In addition, untimely removal of excess vegetation will not allow the bush to give a good harvest.
Care for tall tomatoes
If you live in the southern regions, such a variety is perfect for you, because it can be cultivated both in greenhouses and on open ground. A long warm summer allows you to get excellent harvests. But the inhabitants of the northern regions only have to dream of such a variety: it simply will not have time to ripen, because its vegetation period is quite long.
Since indeterminate plants reach great heights, they must be tied so that the main stem does not break and withstand the load of ripe tomatoes.
Determinant Varieties
What does a determinant variety mean? These types of tomatoes are more familiar to us - low and stunted tomatoes, which can be grown both in greenhouses and in open ground. The determinant plant differs from its tall counterparts in the growth mechanism - after fruit set, it stops. The stalk begins to nourish the fruits. Flowering begins after 8-12 of this leaf, inflorescence brushes are laid, as a rule, every 2-3 leaves. If indeterminate varieties are able to grow and throw up to 50 inflorescence brushes, then undersized tomatoes form only 4-5 branches.
Care for undersized crops
To get a good harvest, you need to know how to properly care for seedlings and an adult plant. Consider the main activities:
- Stepsoning. Be sure to carry out this procedure: removing unnecessary useless shoots will help to form the correct stem. If you do not want to pick leaves, keep in mind that you run the risk of growing a bush overloaded with small and unripe fruits that will ripen very slowly.
- Garter. Despite the fact that the determinant variety does not reach a high height, it is still necessary to tie the bushes. Such an event will provide greater stability of the stem: the tomatoes will not come into contact with the soil and deteriorate.
Such varieties are perfect for many regions - the growing season is short, and they manage to ripen even in the northern regions of our country. They can be cultivated in open ground and in greenhouses.
Varieties of Determinant Varieties
Low-growing nightshade nights are classified by stem size and maturity. For example, ordinary varieties begin to bear fruit about 90-95 days after sowing seeds or 40-50 days after planting seedlings in the ground. But if you want to get the first fruits before everyone else, super-determinant varieties of tomatoes will suit you. They generally do not require special care (pinching and tying), and you can try a healthy vegetable already 80-85 days after planting seeds or 30-35 days after planting seedlings.
Would you like to tie up your plants and thin out leaflets? Give preference to standard tomatoes. This determinant plant has a very small height and a strong resistant stem. They bear fruit early enough and amicably, do not require special care. The first flower brush appears after the formation of 4-6 main leaves, each subsequent inflorescence is thrown through 2 leaves.
The middle ground can be called semi-determinant varieties. They do not have a clear restriction on growth, they develop and grow after fruit set and throw new inflorescences. The problem is that this kind of plant can end very sharply, that is, stop growing. Agronomists recommend the formation of two stems in the plant, if necessary, tied so that the fruits do not rot from contact with the ground.
We grow seedlings correctly
Low-growing tomatoes, as a rule, are not sown immediately in the ground; it is necessary to grow seedlings, otherwise the plant will not have time to present its fruits. Planting seeds is best done in March 1 or 2, it is at this time that daylight increases, and the plant begins to grow rapidly. The first brushes will appear in the last decade of April or in early May. If you live in the southern regions, the time for planting seeds can be shifted to an earlier date (mid-February), but they will have to be artificially illuminated with a lamp.
Keep in mind that the plant needs to be tempered to better adapt to the environment. As soon as the first shoots appear, lower the room temperature. Such an event will not only harden the tomatoes, but also will not allow the seedlings to stretch very much and thin the stems. Make sure that the air temperature is about +16 ° C: ventilate the room, open the windows. And if you are engaged in growing shoots in an apartment, you can take them out to the balcony for the whole daylight hours. When growing seeds immediately in the ground in good, warm weather, release them from the insulation film.
First feeding
A determinant plant must be fed during the formation of seedlings. On day 20, tomato shoots sharply increase the growth rate, so you need to "support" them by feeding. For these purposes, special complex products for vegetables are suitable.
Watering the shoots is necessary regularly, checking the moisture of the soil; you can not use a lot of water, otherwise the roots will rot. You can plant shoots already 50-60 days after seedlings of tomatoes.
If you get seedlings on the market, be sure to pay attention to its appearance: a healthy plant should be dark green in color, have a strong stem, not have any spots and signs of decay or other damage. Do not buy tomatoes that have already formed inflorescences, because such plants take root worse and bear fruit.
Landing
Agronomists insist that special attention should be paid to transplanting seedlings - the shoots of a young plant are especially susceptible to frost. Once the temperature is set at + 10 ° C, determinant tomatoes can be planted. What is it and how to do it right? Fertile, fluffy soil is suitable for tomatoes. Prepare the wells (not very deep), place any organic preparation in them. Water the soil abundantly with water, leave moisture to absorb for 2-3 minutes, and place the sprout in the ground. Prerequisite: the roots (clods) must be present on the roots of seedlings. Tomatoes, in which the roots are peeled, take root poorly and are sick for a long time.
Take care not to damage the root part, dig in very carefully and carefully tamp the ground around the plant.
A determinant plant is best planted in rows, be sure to observe a distance between the bushes of 40-50 cm. Between the rows, it is recommended to leave a space of 60-80 cm.
Remember that nightshade crops cannot be planted in the same place every year, the interval should be at least 4 years, otherwise a good harvest should not be expected.
Proper plant care
How to properly care for the plant to grow determinant tomatoes? What is it and what activities should be carried out? We specify:
- Pasynkovanie and tying bushes - a prerequisite for both undersized and indeterminate varieties.
- Watering. Tomatoes require a rare but plentiful watering. It must be carried out in the evening, when there is no longer direct sunlight. Note that the sprinkler in the watering can is not useful to you. Pour water directly under the root. Moisture droplets on contact with the sheets can cause late blight disease.
- Loosening the soil. Keep the ground around the root system loose. Such an event will allow the bushes to "breathe" and grow better.
- If the plant is very long, spud it around the stalk so that it becomes more stable and does not break.
The best varieties
What tomatoes to choose to get the best harvest? Here is a description of the varieties of tomatoes, and you decide for yourself what suits you best. So, the determinant varieties of tomatoes:
- Variety "oak" - a delicious fleshy dense fruit with a bright red color. It ripens early and is resistant to late blight. The taste is pleasant, sweet and sour.
- Yamal tomato - excellent taste. The shape is flat round. At the same time, these tomatoes are perfectly stored and ripen early.
- Tomato "honey cream" is a determinant plant, the fruits have a pronounced plum shape. In addition to high palatability, the fruits are great for preservation. Rip up early and persist for a long time.
- Variety "grotto" - ultra-ripe tomato, has excellent taste and a rounded shape. The fruit is small, only about 50-80 g.
And how to recognize these varieties of tomato? The photos that you can see in the article will help you understand how the described tomatoes look, reaching ripeness.
Semi-terminal varieties
But the best representatives of this group are:
- Tomato "openwork" - an early ripe variety, which has a mass of 200 to 250 grams. Bright red color, the fruits do not crack, have a dense fleshy texture.
- Tomato "Valentine" - a red-orange fleshy fruit, very tasty with a pronounced sweetish tinge.
- Variety "raspberry blossom" - bright raspberry tomatoes, fleshy and round, well preserved.
- Tomato "la-la-fa" - mid-season variety, the fruits have a flat-round shape with pronounced lobules on the surface. Excellent taste, the tomato does not crack and is well preserved.
Tall tomatoes
If you decide to grow tomatoes that bear fruit well and reach a height of several meters, choose indeterminate plants. Description of tomato varieties:
- Tomato "Altai orange" - the fruit is flat-round, has a bright orange color. A delicious meaty tomato is suitable for both storage and canning.
- Variety "Korneevsky pink" - a delicious dense tomato, great for salads, has a bright pink or raspberry color. The fruits are very large, reaching a weight of 500 g.
- Variety "bull heart" - a dense pink tomato, with a soft texture, the fruits are large, conical in shape. Great taste.
- Tomato "de Barao" (red, yellow, orange) is an excellent variety that is suitable for both salads and canning. The texture is dense, sugary, ripens early and is stored for a long time.
- Tomato "black prince" - bright raspberry fruits, round-shaped, large and very sweet.
Whatever tomato variety you choose, remember: you must carefully care for the plant to get a good harvest.